Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day believes that change is necessary, even at the highest level of college football.
Nobody would blame him if he rested on his laurels. He’s a championship head coach and runs one of the best programs in the nation. The Buckeyes are a perennial contender, and Day is also one of the top recruiters in the country.
He could sit back, relax and let it all come to him.
Recently speaking about the state of college football in 2026 and things like NIL and the seemingly ever-open transfer portal, though, Day made a prehistoric comparison.
He didn’t go full “Jurassic Park,” but he did recently watch a documentary, “The Dinosaurs” on Netflix, that reminded him that change is now part of the game in college football.
The Buckeyes will have over 50 new players on the roster in 2026, but that’s just the way things are now. Had Day not embraced this new era of doing things, perhaps he wouldn’t have survived as a head coach.
“I watched that Netflix documentary on the dinosaurs,” Day said on Tuesday (h/t On3). “If you want to feel insignificant, watch that because it talks about how the dinosaurs were on Earth, like, 250 million years ago. Throughout time … the world changed, the climate changed, the Earth changed. Some dinosaurs figured out how to continue to adapt and some died. I guess that’s a little extreme, but I think it’s kind of the way it is in college football. The people who know how to adapt are going to continue to move on and the ones who don’t, they die.”
Ohio State will have 50-plus new players on the roster in 2026
Day brought in 17 players this offseason via the transfer portal. Another chunk of newbies in Columbus, 27 freshmen, will come in via the No. 3-ranked high school recruiting class in the nation.
That’s a lot of new faces that have to learn how Day does things in Columbus. They also have to quickly pick up the standard at Ohio State.
“Half of your team is new. They’ve never played a down in football here. And we’re not allowed to lose a game. So we’re going to adapt. We’re not going to die,” Day said.
Day and his staff will now have to quickly get this new team on the same page. He’s got an elite group of assistants so he’ll have plenty of help. Having returning superstars like wideout Jeremiah Smith and quarterback Julian Sayin will help as well.
Building relationships key for Ryan Day and Ohio State Buckeyes
Also, keep in mind, it’s not like these new players are strangers. There’s relationship building that has to happen on the recruiting trail and it’s even important in the transfer portal.
Day believes the relationships that have already been built will help the Buckeyes gel, but ultimately, going through the games this fall is what will really make or break the 2026 Buckeyes.
“This isn’t just a bunch of guys coming in off the street that we don’t know,” Day said. “Obviously, there’s been relationships built. Doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s not just random. I think that’s intentional, but there’s no question that these guys haven’t played for the Buckeyes before. I mentioned it out there, there’s guys in that group right there that have scars here, that have had success here, and there are a lot of guys that haven’t played one snap here yet. All that comes into play this season.”
